


Redemption

by Aria6



Series: A Coyote's Stories [20]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-12 03:34:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3342032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria6/pseuds/Aria6





	Redemption

I should never have let myself get close to him. Shunsui thought as he went back to his Division. He honestly couldn't believe what had just happened. His mind was still cushioned with shock. Had this really happened? Maybe it was a nightmare. Maybe if he pinched himself hard enough, he would wake up.

He knew better of course. He pushed open the door to his office and paused as he saw the arrancar there. Starrk was napping in a sunbeam, lazily passing his afternoon. Setting down the bag he was carrying he approached the arrancar, smiling sadly at the sight. He looked so peaceful there.

"Starrk, wake up." He said, gently resting a hand on the arrancar's shoulder. One grey eye opened, looking at him with vague curiosity. "I brought us lunch. Are you hungry?" The usual joke. Starrk was never hungry, arrancar didn't need to eat. Both eyes opened and the arrancar smiled at him.

"Famished." He said, his voice full of warmth and amusement. Shunsui smiled back and knew it would look genuine. He was a good liar, unlike the arrancar in front of him. And he just didn't know how to break the news. He picked up the bag again, bringing it to the little table they ate at. Starrk took a seat across from him, still smiling. Shunsui opened the bags, examining the arrancar as he did.

When he'd first been brought to the Seireitei, Coyote Starrk had been a hairsbreadth away from dead. Unohana had healed him a bit, before she had moved on to other victims. Unlike Halibel and her fraccion, though, he hadn't been able to flee them under his own power. The Primera had been completely vulnerable when a cleanup crew had gone through the ruins, finding any survivors. He'd been brought to the Seireitei under kido wards that were largely superfluous.

They were still superfluous, really. Starrk was wearing an extremely powerful retaining collar on his throat. Purified seki-stone and meant to hold the reiatsu of a taichou, it honestly wasn't necessary. The Espada's power had been permanently crippled by the loss of his zanpakuto, Lilinette. At first it had seemed like Starrk's mind was going to go as well, but he'd rebounded. Largely due to the strange friendship that had bloomed between him and the man who had nearly killed him.

Shunsui wouldn't have been surprised if Starrk had blamed him for the loss of Lilinette, but he didn't. He was a very fair person and acknowledged that they had both had no choice. The only one he truly blamed was himself. He'd said once, that if he'd only been more willing to kill, Lilinette would still be there. That was sad but very true.

At first, Starrk had been in very poor condition. Without his reiatsu to help, his recovery had been long and painful. But now, almost five years later, he practically glowed with good health. His skin was warm, his hair was soft and his body was muscled and lean. Shunsui watched as long fingered, strong hands opened the container and grey eyes brightened with pleasure.

"Sausage in a toasted bun! You shouldn't have." Starrk said, reaching for the mustard packets and the little container of sliced onions. Shunsui smiled, feeling melancholy as he watched. This was Starrk's favorite street food. It wasn't his, although he didn't mind it sometimes. The Espada squirted out the mustard as Shunsui looked at his own food for a moment. He'd picked up a bento box for himself. Picking up his chopsticks he idly pushed around the sushi as Starrk bit into his food, almost getting sausage juice all over himself. "Ah, any napkins?"

"Yes, right here." Smiling faintly, he passed them over. Starrk used them to clean his hands and the front of his robes, smiling.

They ate in peace for a while. Or rather, Starrk ate as he picked at his food. The Espada was sucking off his fingers, catching the last of his treat when he spoke.

"Things went that badly?" He said quietly and Shunsui lifted his gaze, surprised. "I'm not stupid, you know. You've been off since you entered the room. You got me my favorite meal and you're not eating yours." Starrk paused before giving him a small smile. "And you forget my sense of smell, and the fact that I've been dragged in front of Central 46 before. I know where you've been." He said gently and Shunsui stiffened before closing his eyes. The Espada was very perceptive, sometimes. "Am I going to the mukan?" He asked and Shunsui put a hand over his face, unable to answer. "Execution?" The other man's voice was so calm. Shunsui massaged his forehead, still struggling to think of what to say. "Ah. I see." He opened his eyes to see that Starrk was looking at him with concern. "Shunsui? Are you well?"

"Me?" That seemed like to most ludicrous concern he'd heard in his life. "I'm not the one who's going to…" He stopped, feeling anguished. But Starrk had no way to escape. He couldn't even use sonido, with that collar around his throat. The arrancar was doomed yet didn't seem to care. "How can you take this so calmly?" It made no sense to him. Starrk's eyes darkened for a moment and he sighed, reaching for a fortune cookie.

"It is what it is. I know you hoped otherwise but the truth is, I never thought I would be allowed to live." Starrk said quietly and Shunsui swallowed. "I was glad for how long it was taking. I enjoyed spending time with you… I'm sorry Shunsui. I know this must hurt you." Starrk looked at the cookie in his hands sadly. "I… should not have allowed myself to become so close to you. But I could not resist." There was guilt in his voice and Shunsui shook his head, reaching out to touch his arm.

"You shouldn't worry about that." He said quietly and grey eyes flicked up, meeting his. "My feelings are nothing compared to what is going to happen to you." Worrying about his feelings at a time like this… yes, it was a very Starrk thing to do. His coming death didn't seem to bother the arrancar at all. The cookie crunched and Starrk extracted the fortune, reading the little piece of paper. Then the corners of his lips tilted up before he chuckled. It was a soft, amused sound. "What does it say?" Shunsui asked, morbidly curious. Starrk dropped the little piece of paper, still smiling.

"It is a good time for a new beginning." He said lightly before eating a small piece of cookie. "What is death if not a new beginning?" He asked and Shunsui blinked back tears. "Ah, Shunsui, don't be sad. I'm not. Mmm, how long do we have?" He asked.

"The date hasn't been set." He said, remembering the meeting. He wished they could have at least given him that. Starrk ate another piece of cookie thoughtfully.

"I could be months. Why don't we spend them having fun?" He suggested and Shunsui couldn't help but smile. If he were the one on death row, he would be thinking the same. "Remember that bar you took me to the Rukongai, the one with the daffodil sign? I might like to go again."

"Amiko's. Yes, we can go." He remembered that Starrk had had a wonderful time dancing. Many of the women had been afraid of him but the braver had been interested in how different he was. The Espada had found companionship that night. Perhaps he would find it again. Shunsui hoped so, at least.

The man was right. They should enjoy the time they had left.

It took three months for the execution to take place.

They filled those months with all the fun they could manage. Shunsui even took some time off his duties, to spend it with the arrancar. The only thing that made it a bit difficult was the other shinigami. Many of them knew about Starrk's coming death and it made things awkward, to say the least.

Many of the shinigami thought it was unfair. Five years was not a long time for shinigami, but it was long enough for the arrancar to make some friends. With his non-confrontational personality, he'd gravitated towards others who tended to feel the same way. Hinamori, Kira, Juushiro and Nanao could all be counted among his friends. Seeing Momo hugging Starrk and crying on his shoulder had been a bit hard to take.

There might have been trouble but Starrk himself put an end to that. His quiet acceptance stunned everyone and when someone made an oblique suggestion, the arrancar shot it down. He wasn't interested in getting anyone else in trouble. And he'd said, with an honesty that was painful to hear, that he was looking forward to seeing Lilinette again.

So finally he was brought to the execution grounds, wearing the traditional white yukata. Shunsui watched, feeling old and tired as the Espada held his head high, his grey eyes calm and serene. His wrists were held in front of him in restraints, although it was hardly necessary. He was not inclined to try to escape.

"Have you any last words?" Yamamoto asked when the arrancar was standing in front of him. If his duty bothered him, he did not show it. Starrk considered that for a moment.

"Not just words. I have a request." His voice carried easily over the execution grounds. "Shinigami purify hollows with their swords because they will accept nothing else. But I am not just a hollow. I have reason and emotions, just like any plus, and I request that my soul be purified in the same manner. I ask for konso, not the end of a blade. I hope you can grant me this request." Starrk fell silent and Shunsui blinked in surprise. Suddenly there was a spate of whispering among the watchers.

Can we do that?

Is it even possible? Those were the two main sentiments, and Shunsui shared them. Was Starrk's request even possible? He was no simple plus soul. Yamamoto raised a hand and the whispers died to silence.

"I will attempt to grant your request." So not even Yamamoto knew, but he was willing to try. The Soutaichou's cane vanished, revealing his sword, and Shunsui watched. When was the last time Yama-jii had given konso personally? He really had no idea but he suspected it had been a long, long time. "Konso." He said as he gentle tapped the hilt of his sword against the waiting forehead. The stamp glowed there in blue, brilliant as the sun.

And to everyone's surprise, it worked. But it wasn't the same as the purification of a single plus. No… this was like seeing thousands of plus souls cleansed, all at once. Starrk's body rippled and vanished as the blue glow spread and what erupted from him was a gush, a torrent, an ocean of souls. Blue sparks rippled through the air, each one special and beautiful in their own way. A few red and black spots were interspersed in the blue and Shunsui instinctively felt that they were going to a different destination, but they were small compared to the blue. Souls swirled upwards in a cacophony of light, until only one remained.

It was larger and more intense than any of the others. If the other souls were stars, this one was the sun, and it rose through the air with a brilliant light. Shunsui stared at, entranced, and wondered what it was. Was it a single soul? Or was it a composite, all the souls within Starrk that had been damaged and mashed together, creating this shockingly beautiful thing? Whatever it was, it drifted through the air before vanishing. And the arrancar was gone.

There was a long moment of shocked silence before anyone could say anything.

"Sweet kami." Juushiro whispered and Shunsui looked at him to see there were tears on his face. Everyone had been affected by the purification, even those who were usually known for being as sensitive as bricks. Yamamoto bowed his head for a moment before turning away.

"This duty has been completed. Please, return to your units." He said, his voice oddly gentle. But then, they had all just taken a massive shock. Gradually the crowd dispersed, quietly discussing what they had witnessed. Shunsui went with them and smiled to himself, sad but hopeful.

What would have been tragic had somehow become magical. Perhaps, this would not be the end for Coyote Starrk.


End file.
